This is with reference to the report “Sudanese city ‘living in fear’ as para-military threat looms” (Nov 9 in Dawn). The ongoing conflict in Sudan is often reduced to a distant headline, but it is, in fact, a stark and perfect case study of ruthless geopolitical moves. It is a story the world must understand, for its narrative of greed and power holds an unsettling mirror to the broader human condition.
The scale of the tragedy is immense: over 150,000 people killed, more than 15 million displaced, and nearly 25 million facing dire humanitarian crises. It is a profound tragedy to see Muslims fighting Muslims, but the roots of this conflict run much deeper than sectarian lines.
This is not the story of South Sudan, a separate nation born from a similar history of bloodshed and resource struggle. The current conflict in Sudan is a story of greed, gold reserves and the ambitions of global giants. The United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, and China are all playing their part, each protecting a vested interest in the region’s resources.
The historical context is crucial. Since its independence from Great Britain in 1956, Sudan has been marred by internal strife, primarily between the Arab-Muslim north and the culturally diverse south. The implementation of Sharia law in 1983 exacerbated these tensions, leading to civil wars and culminating in the secession of South Sudan in 2011 after a bloody struggle over its vast oil reserves.
The present conflict stems from a power struggle between two military factions that once collaborated to oust longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. One side is the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), while, on the other, is the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF). The SAF holds the east, commanding the flow of the Nile River and Sudan’s oil reserves, while the RSF controls the west, including Darfur and, most significantly, Sudan’s gold production. Sudan, mind you, is Africa’s third-largest gold producer.
And, this is precisely where the global powers enter the fray, their interest underpinned by a looming global gold rush. Central banks worldwide are stockpiling gold to hedge against economic instability.
With only about 216,000 tonnes of gold ever mined, and annual demand from central banks alone reaching 1,000 tonnes, control over a source producing hundreds of tonnes is a geopolitical prize.
What is happening in Sudan cannot be justified in any way. The bloodshed has reached horrifying extremes. Satellite images have shown mass graves and human blood staining the earth. Humans are being slaughtered and buried in trenches. This is a disgrace to our shared humanity, a testament to how far individuals will go for power and control. Is this impulse entirely foreign to our own lives?
The story of Sudan is a story of greed, of intoxication with power. The same story exists in our lives. The conflict in Sudan is a macroscopic reflection of a microscopic truth about human nature.
It forces us to confront the uncomfortable reality that the human greed and hunger for power that devastate nations and states are the very impulses that we must guard against vigilantly in our hearts and minds.
MUHAMMAD FAIZAN ALI
KARACHI
